Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Wayfair co-founders Niraj Shah and Steve Conine, Ulta Beauty ceo Mary Dillon; and Libbey chairman & ceo William A. Foley will be honoured for their philanthropic endeavours by the Housewares Charity Foundation (HCF) during its annual Housewares Cares Charity Gala on March 4, held during the 2019 International Home + Housewares Show in Chicago.
Niraj and Steve will receive the Humanitarian of the Year Award; Mary will receive the Legacy Humanitarian Award; and William will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Proceeds of the Gala will benefit HCF’s legacy charity Breast Cancer Research Foundation as well as the James Beard Foundation.
Since the first Gala in 1998, HCF has raised more than $50 million and has been credited with donating more than $29 million to BCRF. Since 2000, HCF has funded 120 BCRF research projects.
The star-studded evening will include auctions and entertainment, along with the honoree tributes. In partnership with the James Beard Foundation, the Gala will begin with a reception featuring the 2019 All-Star Chef Line-up including Rick Bayless of Frontera; Abe Conlon of Fat Rice; Joe Flamm of Spiaggia Restaurant; Meg Galus of BOKA; Andrea Reusing of The Durham; Sarah Rinkavage; Paul Virant of Vie Restaurant and Greg Wade of Publican Quality Bread.
Niraj and Steve co-founded Wayfair in 2002 and the pair rapidly grew the business to become one of the world’s largest online destinations for the home, generating $6.2 billion in net revenue for the 12 months ended September 30 2018. Niraj serves as co-chairman and ceo, while Steve is co-chairman and leads the innovations that give Wayfair a technological edge in the online retail business – from building Wayfair’s software systems in the early years to leveraging next-generation technologies such as augmented reality and artificial intelligence.
Mary joined Ulta Beauty as chief executive officer in July 2013. Under her direction, Ulta Beauty has achieved record sales and earnings in its e-commerce business. She leads an associate base of more than 40,000, 92% of whom are women. Dillon was named #9 on the ‘Fortune Magazine’ 2018 Business Person of the Year list. She also serves on the board of directors of Starbucks Corporation and KKR, Inc.
William A. Foley was appointed chairman and CEO of Libbey Inc., one of the world’s largest glass tableware manufacturers, in January 2016, after serving as an independent chairman of the board since August 2011 and as a director of the company since 1994.
To purchase tickets for the gala or for more information about the HCF, its honorees and its charities, visit https://www.housewares.org/show/charity or contact Paul Murphy at pimurphy11@gmail.com.
